Conrad Leads Wawasee To Regional Record 297
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
FORT WAYNE -ÊWednesday night Wawasee senior Stephen Conrad was at the driving range until 9 p.m. trying to get ready for Thursday's regional at Chestnut Hills Golf Course.
That extra work paid off as Conrad earned medalist honors and helped the Warriors win the Homestead Regional with a 297, a new regional record for the course.
"Stephen was at the driving range working on his game," said Wawasee coach Steve Coverstone. "He was losing the ball to the right a bit. He still did it a little bit today, but he played very well today."
The Warriors overcame an hour delay along with extremely wet conditions to break the regional record of 299 they set last year by two strokes.
"The course played a bit longer than we expected it to today," said Coverstone. "Where we hit today was a bit different from where they hit in practice. The guys played pretty well, and I'm tickled to get out. This is a special group of kids."
Following Conrad for the Warriors was sophomore Darrin Cripe, who tied for third-place overall with a 73.
"Darrin told me (Wednesday) night that he had a good feeling in his stomach," said Coverstone. "He shot a 73 and bogeyed the last two holes, so he had a pretty good day as well."
Finishing out the Wawasee lineup was Joel Bickel with a 74, Josh Abrams with a 78 and Evan Gerard wih an 84.
"Josh faltered a bit at the end, he hit one out on 18," said Coverstone. "Joel Bickel is always steady. Evan Gerard struggled a bit. His game is still a bit off, but he'll be fine next week."
After a rough start on the front nine holes, the Warsaw Tigers finished the day with a 318 to tie for fifth place with Plymouth and Lakeland.
"The front nine killed us," said Warsaw coach Ben Barkey. "You can't shoot a 160 on the front nine and expect to get out of the regional. Even though we did not start off well, the guys fought back and improved on the last nine holes. They didn't give up."
While the Tigers did not advance as a team, sophomore linkster Chris Hanson advanced to the state as an individual. Hanson's 74 was good enough to advance to the state meet in the individual competition.
"Hanson has had a great season," said Barkey. "I am really glad to see him get out."
Jake Brodhead was second for the Tigers with a 76, while Jon Clevenger shot a 78. Austin Francalancia finished the day with a 90, while Ben Brodhead shot a 92.
"We've had a great two weeks," said Barkey. "We have a young team, and we'll be back next year."
The Warriors, along with Hanson, will compete in the state semifinals at The Legends of Indiana in Franklin Wednesday. The teams and individuals with the top scores advance to the final round Thursday.
HOMESTEAD REGIONAL
Team scores - Wawasee 297, Columbia City 308, Concord 308, Blackhawk Christian 314, Warsaw 318, Plymouth 318, Lakeland 318, Fort Wayne Luers 323, Homestead 326, Fort Wayne Dwenger 331, Northridge 333, East Noble 335
Individual scores -ÊAndrew Campbell (South Side) 72, Chris Tilbury (Fremont) 74, Josh Collins (Fremont) 75, Joey Zapf (Manchester) 76, Justin Hueber (Leo) 76, Hartley McLeod (Snider) 78, John Silver (Prairie Heights) 79, Amit Mathur (CMA) 83, Nick Hess (Canterbury) 85, Nathan Fanning (Westview) 86, Chad Wilson (Central Noble) 86, Jared Nifong (Triton) 88, Kyle Miller (Goshen) 104
Wawasee scores -ÊStephen Conrad 35-37-72, Joel Bickel 36-38-74, Josh Abrams 38-40-78, Darrin Cripe 736-73, Evan Gerard 84
Warsaw scores -ÊJake Brodhead 39-37-76, Ben Brodhead 47-45-92, Chris Hanson 37-37-74, Jon Clevenger 4-37-78, Austin Francalancia 43-47-90 [[In-content Ad]]
FORT WAYNE -ÊWednesday night Wawasee senior Stephen Conrad was at the driving range until 9 p.m. trying to get ready for Thursday's regional at Chestnut Hills Golf Course.
That extra work paid off as Conrad earned medalist honors and helped the Warriors win the Homestead Regional with a 297, a new regional record for the course.
"Stephen was at the driving range working on his game," said Wawasee coach Steve Coverstone. "He was losing the ball to the right a bit. He still did it a little bit today, but he played very well today."
The Warriors overcame an hour delay along with extremely wet conditions to break the regional record of 299 they set last year by two strokes.
"The course played a bit longer than we expected it to today," said Coverstone. "Where we hit today was a bit different from where they hit in practice. The guys played pretty well, and I'm tickled to get out. This is a special group of kids."
Following Conrad for the Warriors was sophomore Darrin Cripe, who tied for third-place overall with a 73.
"Darrin told me (Wednesday) night that he had a good feeling in his stomach," said Coverstone. "He shot a 73 and bogeyed the last two holes, so he had a pretty good day as well."
Finishing out the Wawasee lineup was Joel Bickel with a 74, Josh Abrams with a 78 and Evan Gerard wih an 84.
"Josh faltered a bit at the end, he hit one out on 18," said Coverstone. "Joel Bickel is always steady. Evan Gerard struggled a bit. His game is still a bit off, but he'll be fine next week."
After a rough start on the front nine holes, the Warsaw Tigers finished the day with a 318 to tie for fifth place with Plymouth and Lakeland.
"The front nine killed us," said Warsaw coach Ben Barkey. "You can't shoot a 160 on the front nine and expect to get out of the regional. Even though we did not start off well, the guys fought back and improved on the last nine holes. They didn't give up."
While the Tigers did not advance as a team, sophomore linkster Chris Hanson advanced to the state as an individual. Hanson's 74 was good enough to advance to the state meet in the individual competition.
"Hanson has had a great season," said Barkey. "I am really glad to see him get out."
Jake Brodhead was second for the Tigers with a 76, while Jon Clevenger shot a 78. Austin Francalancia finished the day with a 90, while Ben Brodhead shot a 92.
"We've had a great two weeks," said Barkey. "We have a young team, and we'll be back next year."
The Warriors, along with Hanson, will compete in the state semifinals at The Legends of Indiana in Franklin Wednesday. The teams and individuals with the top scores advance to the final round Thursday.
HOMESTEAD REGIONAL
Team scores - Wawasee 297, Columbia City 308, Concord 308, Blackhawk Christian 314, Warsaw 318, Plymouth 318, Lakeland 318, Fort Wayne Luers 323, Homestead 326, Fort Wayne Dwenger 331, Northridge 333, East Noble 335
Individual scores -ÊAndrew Campbell (South Side) 72, Chris Tilbury (Fremont) 74, Josh Collins (Fremont) 75, Joey Zapf (Manchester) 76, Justin Hueber (Leo) 76, Hartley McLeod (Snider) 78, John Silver (Prairie Heights) 79, Amit Mathur (CMA) 83, Nick Hess (Canterbury) 85, Nathan Fanning (Westview) 86, Chad Wilson (Central Noble) 86, Jared Nifong (Triton) 88, Kyle Miller (Goshen) 104
Wawasee scores -ÊStephen Conrad 35-37-72, Joel Bickel 36-38-74, Josh Abrams 38-40-78, Darrin Cripe 736-73, Evan Gerard 84
Warsaw scores -ÊJake Brodhead 39-37-76, Ben Brodhead 47-45-92, Chris Hanson 37-37-74, Jon Clevenger 4-37-78, Austin Francalancia 43-47-90 [[In-content Ad]]